Army South, Brazilian Army leaders prepare for combined training at JRTC

The commander of U.S. Army South, Maj. Gen. Daniel R. Walrath, accompanied the Brazilian Army chief of training to the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, Louisiana Feb. 4-5 where the Brazilian Army plans to send paratroopers for training early next year.

Maj. Gen. Marcos De Sá Affonso da Costa, Brazilian Army chief of training, and Maj. Gen. Josias Pedrotti Da Rosa, Brazilian Army attache to the United States, linked up with Walrath at the Army South headquarters based at Joint Base San Antonio- Fort Sam Houston before traveling on to the JRTC.

During the visit, Affonso da Costa took the opportunity to gain knowledge about the mission, location, structure, organization and main features of the JRTC; determine the best methods for Brazilian paratroopers to conduct a rotation exercise there, and study examples of how JRTC creates realistic combat conditions to evaluate units.

As the Army component of U.S. Southern Command, Army South's overarching objective for strengthening the army-to-army partnership with Brazil is achieving interoperability across the human, technical and procedural dimensions. A key way of doing this is through combined training and by increasing the number of military personnel exchanges and liaison officers at U.S. Army institutions.

Originally agreed to in 2016 as part of the bilateral U.S.-Brazil Army five-year plan, Brazil plans to send a company of paratroopers from its 27th Airborne Battalion located in Rio de Janeiro to JRTC where they will train with 1st Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers in 2021.

The Brazilian Army is fully funding its participation in JRTC. This is an investment not only for training its soldiers, but also for strengthening ties between two of the world's most robust democracies.

These interactions allow armies to address, together, emerging challenges in the region, hemisphere and globally. U.S. Army South remains committed to bolstering a friendly network of partners and confronting challenges as part of a comprehensive joint effort.